CHESHIRE'S county council is one of England's best - according to the independent Audit Commission watchdog.

Its rating as "excellent" is based on evidence of quality of services, use of resources and capacity to improve.

And the outcome of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment will mean greater freedom for the county council from government control, regulations and even guidance as it continues to work for Cheshire's benefit.

Among its successes which the Audit Commission highlights are:

the high level of public satisfaction with the county council overall and its services

strong performance in education, culture and social services

good evidence of community consultation and involvement

effective and healthy relationships between elected and county councillors and officers noted for their professionalism and competence

The latest evidence of its national standing as a leading local authority - only 16 have been rated excellent among 150 involved in the process - follows the development of monitoring and scrutiny nationwide.

Council leader Paul Findlow, who represents Macclesfield, said: "During much of its 113 year history this county council has been considered one of the best among both local people and national organisations and I am delighted with this independent judgement of our current standing."

Chief executive Jeremy Taylor, who was appointed to the job in the summer, said: "To be classed as excellent is a tribute to the county councillors and the professional officers who have worked for the best interests of the people of Cheshire despite the fact that the Whitehall funding formula has denied us significant amounts of government grant for more than a decade.

"Now the challenge is to both match these achievements and improve where necessary despite increasing budgetary pressures."

Former council leader and Labour group leader Derek Bateman said: "In my experience there has always been a wish among politicians, irrespective of party, to work with the officers to provide quality services for the benefit of local people.

"The verdict of the Audit Commission is that this has been achieved - and I hope our staff will regard this excellent rating as the best possible compliment for their individual contributions."

Liberal Democrat leader Sue Proctor said: "To be rated as one of the few excellent councils across the whole country is an achievement of which we should feel justifiably proud.

"The results reflect consistently high performance across Cheshire over a number of years with all political parties as well as our hard-working staff being able to take some of the credit.

"Having proved that we can work to standards of excellence the elected county councillors and our workforce must now reaffirm our commitment to providing high quality and best value public services in the years ahead."